An interventional study of Active-tDCS and Sham-tDCS in Stuttering, Adult and Stammering, sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Completed at 1 site in Hong Kong. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-01-18.
Sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The proposed study aims to investigate the effect of combined transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and behavioural speech training in improving speech fluency in Cantonese-speaking adults who stutter (AWS), and to examine its maintenance over a 6-week period.
The proposed study aims to
Twenty Cantonese-speaking AWS will be randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. Both groups will receive behavioral treatment for stuttering, including the speech prolongation technique, for five sessions. Concurrent with behavioural training, the experimental group will receive anodal tDCS (1 mA for 20 minutes), while the control group will receive sham tDCS (1 mA for one minute), over the SMA. Stuttering severity and speech satisfaction will be assessed independently before, immediately after, one week and six weeks after treatment. It is anticipated that AWS will experience reduction in their stuttering severity after stimulation, and the improvement will be maintained for a longer period as compared with receiving behavioural treatment alone.
74 studies on the registry are indexed under Stuttering; 23 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 10 is below the median of 44 across 57 interventional studies indexed under Stuttering.
Browse Stuttering studies →The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is the lead sponsor of 679 studies on the registry; 257 are open to participants now.
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The experimental group will receive 20 minutes of anodal HD-tDCS for five sessions, combined with 20 minutes of behavioural therapy.
Device: Active-tDCS
The control group will only receive one minute of anodal HD-tDCS stimulation which aims to create a similar sensation on the scalp as those in the experimental group, with 20 minutes of behavioural therapy.
Device: Sham-tDCS
Active-tDCS (1 mA) over the supplementary motor area (SMA) for 5 sessions (20 minutes per session, weekly), along with behavioural therapy of speaking tasks (i.e., story narration and conversation) using the minimum prolongation technique based on the Camperdown Program.
Sham-tDCS (1 mA) over the supplementary motor area (SMA) for 5 sessions (one minutes per session, weekly), along with behavioural therapy of speaking tasks (i.e., story narration and conversation) using the minimum prolongation technique based on the Camperdown Program. Participants will receive initial stimulation for one minute, eliciting a tingling sensation on the scalp then it will be discontinued.
Stuttering severity [Percent syllables stuttered (%SS)]
%SS is based on the proportion of spoken syllables that a judge perceives to be stuttered. It will be measured by a qualified speech therapist with prior training in stuttering assessment in Cantonese who will be blinded to the treatment conditions. To establish inter-rater agreement, 20% of the speech samples across different assessment data points will be randomly selected and rated by a second speech therapist.
Time frame: Change before, immediately after, one week and six weeks after treatment
Stuttering severity [Severity rating (SR)]
The subjects will be trained to rate their own stuttering severity based on a 9-point SR scale, with 0 = no stuttering, 1 =very mild stuttering, and 8 = the most severe stuttering.
Time frame: Change before, immediately after, one week and six weeks after treatment
Subject satisfaction
For the assessment of subject satisfaction regarding the treatment, the following two Likert-type survey questions will be asked: 1. How much do you think the treatment helped you to speak more fluently? (1 = not at all, 2 = a little, 3 = somewhat, 4 = a lot, 5 = totally); and 2. How often/much do you think the treatment helped you to feel less stressed in your communication? (1 = never or not at all, 2 = rarely or a little, 3 = sometimes or somewhat, 4 = often or a lot, 5 = always or totally).
Time frame: One week and six weeks after treatment
Ran from Jul 2021 to primary completion in Dec 2023, 29 months.
Of 37 interventional studies with no phase under Stuttering, half reached primary completion within 28 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 38. This study's 29 months is close to that.
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This study is completed, as verified in Jan 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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